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“It… why would… oh,” I say faintly.Dammit.Now I’m the one blushing and stammering and confused about what he thinks about me.
“What’d I tell you?Unpredictable.Can’t be trusted.”This time I’m the object of that cocky wink.“That’s me.”
At the end of the day, I’m pulling on my coat and preparing to head out when Jonesy catches me.
“Is CJ picking you up?”
“Nope.She let me take her car this morning.”
He nods, looking unusually serious.“Mind if I walk out with you?”
“Sure.”Weird that he’d be so formal about it, but I’m happy to wait while he tosses his apron into his locker and pulls on his puffer coat.It’s the first day of December, and central Illinois decided to remind us that it can, in fact, get cold here.Not Canada cold, but I’m glad I grabbed a hat and mittens this morning.
We call goodbye to the last of the waitstaff and head out the back to the staff parking lot.The late afternoon air cuts right through my coat, and I edge closer to Jonesy, not-so-subtly using him as a windbreak.
“So what’s CJ up to today that she loaned you her car?”
“Probably still in bed,” I say.“We, uh, had a late night last night.”
His eyes cut to mine.“Oh yeah?”
Hell.I’m about to be stupidly honest.“Yeah.We kiiiind of ended up at the Crimson Lounge last night.”
We’ve reached CJ’s car, and I unlock the door and fling my purse inside, grabbing my phone as I do and opening the email app to have an excuse not to meet his eye.But all he says is a mild, “Hmm.”
“Snake-hips Santa was as spectacular as I remembered,” I confess, keeping my gaze pinned to the new emails popping into my inbox.It feels right to confess since he was there yesterday for the start of it, but I’m still a little embarrassed that my crush knows about my other crush.
“Actually,” he says, “I wanted to talk to you about?—”
“Shit,” I gasp.Tears rush to my eyes, making it hard to see the screen.But I don’t need to see the email again to confirm what I just read.“Shit!”
“What’s wrong?”Jonesy sounds alarmed as he steps close and rests his hands on my shoulders, his gaze wildly sweeping the parking area behind me for threats.“Who do I need to fight?”Then his hands fall away, and he takes a step back.“Unless this is about last night?”
“What?”I press the top of my right mitten underneath one eye and then the other, trying to keep the tears from falling and ruining my mascara.“No.”
I blink away the last of the moisture in my eyes and see a stricken expression on his face, so I thrust my phone at him where the words are still visible on the screen.We regret to inform you that the position you applied for has been filled.Thank you for your interest and…Blah, blah.
“So much for my dream job,” I say dully.
A breath rushes out of him, and this time he wraps his arms around me, pulling me into a hug.“Boston?”
I nod against this chest, too upset about the news to fully appreciate the fact thatJonesy is hugging me.
“Fucking Boston,” he seethes.“They’re idiots for not choosing you.”
I give a watery laugh.“You have no idea whether I’m good at my job.”
“Of course you’re good at your job.”He pulls me tight to rest his chin on top of my head.“You’re great at your job.Any job you want, you’d crush it.”
I relax against his chest, marveling at how good it feels to just rest there for a second while he rubs soothing circles on my back.I even let my hands wrap around his waist so he can squeeze me tighter.We stand like that for a few minutes even though it’s cold and my feet ache—and if mine ache, I’m sure his ache twice as much.He hums a mindless little tune and rocks me back and forth like I’m a little kid.
Eventually he breaks our hug, but he only pulls back far enough to rub his thumb along the edge of my cheek.He’s not wearing gloves, and his skin is cold and a little rough.I want to turn my head and catch the tip of that finger between my teeth, to pull it into my mouth and suck it.But I don’t, and eventually he lets his hand fall away.
“Gonna be okay?”
I nod.“Yes.Thank you.I just can’t believe all of this is happening because I trusted a friend from college.”
Jonesy tilts his head in the universal gesture ofplease explain, and I say, “The guy in Canada who set me up for all the crimes?We were tight in college, and he aggressively recruited me to come work for him.And then he destroyed my life.As if I didn’t have enough trust issues with men.”
